The Roar of the Night

14

After the conversation with Venom, life began to move quickly. Now I'm at a fast food restaurant, and it's one of those days where the routine feels different. We all went to eat, although I decided to stay in the car before they got to the restaurant. We'd already talked about how to handle my presence, so Alex introduced me as "an old friend from work," someone who doesn't talk much and suffers from a sun allergy, which is why I couldn't take off my hood. Lucy, unsuspecting, simply greeted me and went on with her day. What worried me, really, was not that, but the conversation that awaited me.

Lucy and Tom left after lunch to buy shoes. Meanwhile, Alex, Clara and I stayed at the restaurant. I knew it was the right time to talk, so I told Alex what I talked about with Venom the night before. Clara also joined the conversation, with her usual look, curious but calm.

"Venom and I have decided that we want to save lives," I said, bluntly. Alex's silence threw me for a second.

Alex looked at me surprised, not because he didn't trust me, but because I guess he didn't expect both Venom and I to have come to that conclusion so quickly. Clara, on the other hand, didn't seem all that surprised, but interested.

"It's interesting," Clara said. You know, I've seen strange things on television. I watched Iron Man stop an asteroid recently. Everyone was amazed at how he did it. But... it's not all about what you do, it's about how you look when you do it, right?

I nodded slowly. That was the problem that kept me on my toes. My appearance. No matter how many lives he saved, he was always afraid that people would only see the monster. And I let Alex know.

—It's my appearance that scares me the most. I'm afraid that people will be scared... that they will see me as a monster," I confessed.

Alex took out his cell phone and started searching for something. He showed me some superhero reports. On the screen I saw images of Hulk, the Huge of the Fantastic Four, and Beast, the blue mutant. All scary looking, but what they were doing... they were saving people. I stared for a while, taking in what it meant.

"Look, Rex," Alex said, his voice firm but understanding. Appearance doesn't matter as much when you do the right thing. But if you want to do this well, you're going to have to train. Learn what you can do and why you want to do it.

I felt my heart skip a beat hearing that. I knew why I wanted to do it. I remembered how good it felt to help Lucy, to save that baby... and how Venom was becoming more and more interested in those emotions. We were connecting in a way I never imagined.

"I do it because I love to help," I said, my voice firmer now. And Venom... Venom is starting to feel it too. He wants to feel more of that.

Before he could continue speaking, Clara intervened with a smile.

—Well, if you're really going to do it, what name are you planning to use?

I looked at Alex for a moment. Venom had been thinking about that too.

—Venom told me he would like us to call him Venomheart.